Toy units in the form of kits have long been marketed as items of fun and amusement, especially intended for young children. Such kits enable children to construct models which simulate actual buildings, machines, equipment, living conditions. They even allow children to make constructions of their own imagination. The well-known "Meccano" and "Tinker Toy" kits are examples of such kits. These earlier kits suffered from certain design deficiencies which, sometimes, made assembly of the parts most difficult. Primarily, the problem existed in the design of the connecting elements which, frequently, did not properly fit the holes provided in the toy units. These connection elements were often difficult to fit or remove or, even once fitted, often did not afford a secure and tight fit. Also, the connection elements were sometimes of such awkward shape and improper design that the possibilities of making variations in the constructions were substantially limited.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,979--Nils A. I. Petersson--Dec. 7, 1982 shows a connection element specifically designed to alleviate the aforementioned problems. That connection element consisted of parts of generally cylindrical shape, with a diameter such as to cause a tight fit when mounted in the holes of the toy units to be connected. In order to obtain the capability of being compressed into the holes of the toy unit, an axially extending slot was provided throughout the entire length of the connector. The connector could, therefore, be compressed slightly, to facilitate insertion into the hole and, on release of the compression, creates a tight and secure fit.
The connector described in the cited reference had difficulties, however, in connecting elements in which the hole of one element was slightly larger than the hole of the other element. In this case, when the plug was compressed at one end and inserted into the smaller hole, the other end of the plug was also compressed, thus creating a loose, insecure connection at the point of the larger hole.
Due to manufacturing tolerances, the said holes in the elements will almost always vary in diameter. It is therefore an object of this invention to improve the connector of the cited reference to overcome the problem of accommodating wider tolerances of receptacle holes in the toys.
Also holes may change tolerance due to wear.